A forwarding information base (FIB) is a table or set of tables used to forward elements of network data (e.g., packets, frames, etc.) from ingress ports on a network element to a specific egress port on the network element. For multi-layer network elements (e.g., layer 3 switches) the FIB includes information such as data-link layer addresses (e.g., Ethernet media access control (MAC) addresses) and network layer addresses (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) addresses). Multi-layer network elements routinely support multiple virtual local area networks (VLANs), each having a separate VLAN identifier (VLAN ID). Where network address translation (NAT) is enabled, transmission control protocol (TCP) or user datagram protocol (UDP) ports associated with the same IP address may be mapped to different egress ports on the network element. Accordingly, on some network elements and in some configurations, a large amount of memory may be consumed by the FIB, which can have performance limiting effects. This may be particularly relevant in datacenter environments in which a large number of VLANS are in use.